PROJECT SUMMARY Basic Research Core (Core H) The technological advancements of the last two decades in the area of biomedical research have been nothing short of breathtaking and are propelling the generation of detailed knowledge at an ever increasing speed. Access to these technologies is key for cutting-edge research programs, however, no single laboratory can cover the breadth of the now available high-end research tools and provide complete expertise. The mission of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Basic Research Core (BRC) is thus to maximize the benefits of key technology by providing the necessary instrumentation and services within a well-organized, centralized, facility that is capable of handling potentially infectious material. For this purpose, we have used the last funding period to expand the high-tech service portfolio of the core from a flow cytometry centered operation to an operation that now also offers access to services for ATAC-seq, RNA-seq and kinome analysis. To assist those without laboratory experience or access, we provide sample preparation services for all methods. The BRC has installed a task-specific bioinformatics pipeline that QCs all data sets and provides network analysis based signal pathway description/identification or target prioritization for interested users. More detailed analysis can be provided by UAB's Bioinformatics Institute. To optimize the synergy between the service components and reduce redundancy, we further included the operation of the previous virology core into the BRC. This component provides a tangible collection of HIV clones, lenti- and retroviral vectors as well as engineered cell lines that were generated for projects by UAB researchers and the engagement of the core leaders Drs. Kappes and Ochsenbauer with national HIV-1 research initiatives such as CHAVI or IAVI. Lastly, we seized a unique opportunity provided by the establishment of the HIV+ to HIV+ transplant donor program at UAB, one of only 13 such programs in the USA, and established a HIV+ donor tissue procurement and processing facility. Reliable access to lymphoid and other tissues from HIV+ donors will massively expand our understanding of immune function and actual dysfunction in HIV patients. In its current form, the BRC now provides complete tissue, tool and analytical services supply chain to our users. The critical impact of the BRC is demonstrated by its productivity. During the last funding period, support by the BRC helped CFAR researchers that had HIV-related NIH funding publish over 130 papers. Obviously, the number of supported publications is much higher, as the components of the BRC not only supported 38 HIV- related grants (and 10 developmental awards), but also mostly through the flow cytometry component, 80 non- HIV-related grants. The core supported a total of 86 Principal investigators that were funded by 13 different NIH institutes.